Tuesday, 27 May 2014

Sauber left disappointed with their start to the season

(Sauber F1 Team)

The Sauber F1 Team had another race to forget in Monaco at the weekend as they failed to secure points for another Grand Prix. Neither Esteban Gutierrez or Adrian Sutil failed to finish the race as both drivers were involved in separate accidents.

Gutierrez started the race from 16th on the grid while Sutil started the Grand Prix from 17th place. the Swiss based are certainly not where they want to be at this stage of the season. Following the Grand Prix at the weekend they have now slipped behind the Marussia F1 Team, who secured their first ever Formula One point in Monte Carlo with Jules Binachi finishing the race in 9th place.

In the opening race of the season Down Under in Australia Sauber just missed out on scoring points with Adrian Sutil as the German finished the race in eleventh place while Gutierrez finished the event in 12th place.

In Malaysia, Gutierrez suffered a gearbox problem resulting in another retirement while Sutil suffered a power unit failure.

Bahrain saw the Sauber duo suffered another double retirement. In China, Esteban Gutierrez finished the Grand Prix in 16th place, while Adrian Sutil suffered an engine failure. In Spain, the pair finished the race in 16th (Gutierrez) and 17th (Sutil).

Speaking after Sunday's Monaco Grand Prix, Adrian Sutil said:

'It is a pity that my race ended so early. I had quite a good start. In turn 5 one of the other drivers spun, and as I came around the corner many cars were suddenly stopping in front of me. I had front wing damage which forced me to make a pit stop. I went back onto track almost at the back end of the field, but I was able to gain some positions lap by lap. Unfortunately, coming out of the tunnel I made a mistake when braking, lost the rear and crashed into the guardrail. Certainly, I am very disappointed and I also feel sorry for the whole team.'

Adrian Sutil was left disappointed and ruing the mistake he made saying:

'Unfortunately, I could not finish the race. It was probably the most painful mistake in my career. I touched the guardrail in Rascasse on the entry to the corner and spun, that was the end of the race. Today we had a great chance to earn some points. The start was great, as I was able to gain some positions during the first few laps which gave me a good basis for our race strategy. During the race I needed to take care of the tyres, but we also had to push because we had quick cars coming from behind. It is very disappointing. I really want to say sorry to everyone in the team because they all did a great job today.'

The Swiss based outfit's team boss, Monisha Keltenborn added:

'This was a very unlucky way not to finish this race. We definitely had the chance to score points, but we are leaving Monaco empty handed. Adrian and Esteban were setting good lap times and were able to keep up with competition. This shows that the car was absolutely competitive today, and is important for the whole team to know. Of course, it’s very regrettable to miss such good opportunities in this way.'